Snort! Splat!
A snot bubble from a sleeping Susane popped, waking him up. He blinked, staring at the dark and cold night sky.
"W-what is this?" he muttered, his voice sounding confused. "What happened? Why am I here?"
He immediately searched beside him. "Yougrine? Where's Yougrine?" A brief moment of panic hit him before he saw his beloved doll lying beside him.
"Oh, you're here after all, hahaha." He let out a sigh of relief, but his innocent eyes looked around. "But why is there so much dried blood? And why is it nighttime?"
With sluggish steps, he got up and walked to the river. The cold water touched his skin, jolting him awake. As he washed his face, he saw his reflection in the water.
There was a change. His face, which was previously gaunt and dirty, now looked clean. The muscle lines on his arms appeared more toned and defined.
He touched his own face, feeling a more defined jaw and skin that felt smooth. A faint smile appeared. "Hmm... My face? Interesting."
All this time, he had lived alone, considering his appearance unimportant. But now, with this charming face, a strange thought crossed his mind. Maybe with this, I can have a friend... or even a girlfriend? The thought felt odd, but he didn't dwell on it.
After cleaning himself, he carried Yougrine on his back and rushed home. As he walked, he tried to remember.
'This feels like it's happened before. Like when I ran away from the psychopaths... Suddenly waking up in the forest, with lost memories.'
Susane shook his head. "Ah, maybe I'm thinking too much," he mumbled, holding his dizzy head. "The important thing is, Yougrine is safe."
He arrived at his shack, which was quite far from the river, out of breath from the fear of being seen.
Crakk!
He opened the door of his shack, which was made of a thin sheet of metal he had scavenged from the roadside. "Finally home," he muttered.
He placed Yougrine in a corner of the room. "Yougrine, tell me what happened... O-ouch, my head hurts."
Susane groaned in pain. His hand unconsciously grabbed a piece of charcoal and began scratching it on the wall, drawing the figure of the devil he fought last night, complete with coiling horns and red eyes. But as soon as the drawing was finished, he abruptly crossed it out with a rough stroke.
After that, his headache subsided. He returned to normal and fell asleep on his own shabby mattress.
The sound of crickets accompanied Susane's sleep. In his dream, he met a beautiful woman with long, jet-black hair. They joked, laughed, and shared a warmth filled with love.
...
Outside the dilapidated shack, near the highway, someone was observing the river where the commotion had occurred last night.
That figure drove their car away, saying, "I thought a devil had been summoned, but where did it go?"
After hours of observation, the person left the area, got back into their car, and drove away from the quiet forest road.
...
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the cracks in the shack's window. Susane's loud snoring filled the room, with saliva trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Ugh, it's morning after all," he mumbled, rubbing his eyes. His gaze fell on the wall, where he noticed the strange drawing.
"What is this? Why is there a weird drawing?" he muttered. "Ah, this is happening again. Whatever, maybe Yougrine drew it, hahaha!"
He got out of bed and rushed outside. He found a bucket filled with clean rainwater to wash his face. While brushing his teeth with a wooden root, his mind wandered.
'I want to go for a walk, I haven't been out in a long time,' he thought.
After washing his face, he went back inside the shack, looking for clothes he had stolen from a clothing store in the city. He took out a black gothic suit decorated with beads.
"This is my coolest outfit!" Susane exclaimed excitedly.
"Yougrine, I have clothes for you too. Just a moment, yeah!" He dressed Yougrine in a piece of black fabric.
He put on the suit and looked at himself in the cracked mirror on the wall. "Wow, cool! We look so cool, Yougrine!" His eyes sparkled as he lifted his doll.
Yougrine remained silent and still, as if agreeing. Susane continued, "Ah, you want to, okay! Let's go into action, Yougrine!" He took red glasses and posed in front of the broken mirror, full of confidence.
He put on a cowboy hat, carried Yougrine strapped to his back like a backpack, and walked out.
...
After walking for a while on the side of the highway, a car passed by. Inside, someone saw Susane. "There's something strange about this kid," they muttered. "He's walking and talking to himself. Is he crazy? His outfit doesn't match the person, haha."
The person slowed down their car. From a distance, they felt a strange aura. "What is this? Why do I feel something is not right?" They glanced at the rearview mirror, seeing Susane walking with full energy and saying vulgar things.
'Ah, so that's it. Okay, see you again, devil puppet,' the person thought with a smile, then pressed the gas pedal quickly.
...
Susane, walking along, continued to talk. "Yougrine, do you like women? Ahh, maybe you do too, hehe. Why are you shy, haha. Let's go to the city and look at pretty girls," he said, raising his hand and walking cheerfully.
After walking for a long time, he entered the city. Many cars were roaming without traffic lights. "Wow, this city is still busy. Time for some lunch, ya!" He walked toward a bakery.
Klinting!
"Good afternoon, Baker Man! Do you still remember me?" Susane asked, posing strangely with a wide smile.
"Wow, Susane! Welcome back! I haven't seen you in a long time. Where have you been?" The big muscular man with a long Italian mustache and a pink apron with a rabbit drawing on it greeted him cheerfully.
"Susane, you look different today, tell me about it! Oh, yeah, I have a new bread on the menu list. Do you want to try it?" He handed him a very thick menu book.
Seeing this, Susane was shocked. "Baker Man, I just want to eat, but why is the menu book getting thicker?" he asked, pointing at the book.
The Baker Man smiled and leaned in, whispering into Susane's ear. "Hey, you haven't been here in a long time, so you don't know what's been happening," he said. "I have a girlfriend now. When are you getting one?"
Hearing that, Susane was startled and shouted, "Bastard! You even have a girlfriend?! Are you lying, huh?!" He grumbled, then sat down in a chair. "Now, just prepare your new menu. I'm not in the mood today!"
"Susane, you brought that doll again? Ah, I haven't seen Yougrine in a long time," said the Baker Man while baking the new menu bread.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yougrine is like my sibling. So, wherever I go, he'll follow, as usual," Susane replied, closing his eyes and crossing his arms.
"Is... that menu from your girlfriend too?" Susane asked in a sulky tone.
"Yeah, it's from my girlfriend! Want to see it?" The Baker Man walked closer, handing over his smartphone.
Susane opened one eye and looked at the contents of the smartphone. "Damn it! It's just a cartoon?! Are you crazy, huh? Your fetish hasn't changed!"
The Baker Man scratched his head and said, "Hey, hey, my girlfriend is very possessive, so don't insult her! Wait a moment!"
Ting!
The sound of the microwave went off, signaling the bread was ready. The Baker Man took out a chocolate bread whose fragrant smell filled the room.
"Ahhh, this smells so good! Hurry up, Man, bring it here!" Susane salivated, his eyes wide open.
After eating, he felt his stomach churn violently. Susane rushed to the toilet and had diarrhea.
"Cruatt! Bastard, Man! What did you put in that bread, damn it!" Susane thought, clutching the tissue tightly. He stuck Yougrine to the toilet door, as if asking his doll to stand guard.
Klinting!
The sound of the door opened, and a thug entered with three of his friends. They walked in haughtily, ready to collect tax from the Baker Man.
"Hey, old wibu! Hand over the money, this is tradition, where is it?" a thug yelled, brandishing a dagger. Two of his friends stood behind him, each with a pistol in their pocket.
The Baker Man just raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing. "Huh? Wibu, you say, you bastard?! Don't say that in front of me! I already paid three days ago. Is that not enough?" he said with a mocking tone, angry that his cartoon girlfriend had been insulted.
"Hey, hey, don't yell like that! Aren't you afraid I'll shoot you?" one of his friends said.
"Afraid? Why should I be afraid? I only gave you money because I felt sorry for you, you look like beggars."
A vein throbbed on the thug's head. Without thinking, he pulled out his pistol and shot at the Baker Man.
Duarr!
With lightning speed, the Baker Man deflected the bullet with a katana that was hidden behind his cute apron.
Tingg!
The Baker Man began to get angry. "Hey, you beggar bastard! If you want to die, go ahead and die! But don't cause a ruckus in my shop!" he yelled, brandishing a pink katana.
The three thugs who saw the move had their legs trembling. The innocent man they knew three days ago now looked like an angry lion.
"I-I, I'm sorry!" The thug who had brandished the dagger immediately ran out, while one of his friends peed in his pants.
They fled, realizing that the movement of the Baker Man's sword was completely abnormal, able to deflect a bullet at close range.
Susane, whose diarrhea was finally over, walked out of the toilet. "Ahh, Man, what happened? It's so noisy, I can't focus," he said, carrying Yougrine and adjusting his pants.
"Susane, it was nothing, just some beggars came. I chased them away," he said, putting the katana back behind his apron.
Susane, seeing this, said, "Man, don't get too angry, you'll get high blood pressure. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot... I don't have any money. And, what did you put in that bread, Man?" He approached, grumbling like a little kid.
"No, I didn't put anything in, as usual," the Baker Man replied, speaking as if he were innocent. A cold sweat dripped down his temple. "Just a little muscle supplement powder."
"Ah, whatever," Susane said, suddenly relaxed. "But it's okay, right? I don't have any money, so I'm going now. Bye-bye!" He left the shop with his strange pose.
The Baker Man could only smile, his heart both relieved and worried. He sighed as he watched Susane leave through the door.
'You seem okay, I'm so happy, Susane. But... you're still carrying that doll. Don't let it happen again. Take good care of yourself.'