TGHB 02

TGHB

Posted by Hari, Released on November 5, 2025

Chapter – 02

“I’ll be right back, I’m just going to another room for a bit.”
“O-kay. Come back soon, Unnie.”
“Call me if anything hurts, okay?”
“Don’ wowwy. Menlony is fine now.”

As I answered while patting my chest, my sister smiled brightly and left the room.

Left alone, I rubbed my tingling nose vigorously and looked around.

‘It’s really Bramshua….’

My hometown.
My little paradise.
This was the place where I spent the only happy times in my life, which was never smooth.

‘It’s a bit funny, isn’t it?’

To think that this illegal prison is my hometown and paradise.

Actually, this place, Bramshua, was a prison, but it wasn’t a prison.
It was a place where wealthy people framed those they didn’t like and kept them locked up.

Occasionally, real criminals came here as a cover-up, but most of the inmates were kind, innocent people.

Perhaps because of that, they had a strong sense of unity.
Everyone was kind and affectionate.
They were really good to me, even though I had been here since I was a baby, and no one knew whose child I was.

So, this place couldn’t help but be my paradise.

‘…I’m so glad I returned to Bramshua.’

If I had regressed back to my time at the orphanage….
Ugh, I don’t even want to think about it.

‘But how did I regress?’

It’s already been three days since I regressed.
I’ve been thinking hard, wracking my brains, but I have no clue at all.
I never even thought something like regression was possible in the first place.

The most likely possibility is the man who saved me….
Maybe he had such an ability and was captured as a test subject like me…?

‘No. That’s not certain either.’

Are people with mutant abilities like me common?

‘More than anything, I don’t even know who that man is or why he tried to save me.’

After pondering for a while, I decided to stop thinking.
‘Let’s stop thinking about this now.’

What does it matter how I regressed?
What’s important now is that I’ve been given a chance!
A chance to avoid a miserable death.
A chance to live a long, thin life.

‘So, in this life, I’m going to survive no matter what.’

I clenched my two chestnut-sized fists tightly and made a vow.

‘First, let’s make a life plan!’

I pulled out a faded stack of paper.
Since I was the only child in Bramshua, there were no toys or things like that.
Not that you’d expect much from a prison in the first place.
But the kind sisters and brothers collected old scraps of paper and bound them together for me.
It was my so-called sketchbook substitute.

I stared blankly at the sketchbook for a moment, then subtly pinched my thigh.
‘It hurts.’
Thank goodness, it’s still not a dream.

After completing this series of ritualistic actions, I focused on making plans again.

‘Writing down the plan in words might look strange, so I’ll draw it instead.’

Hmm, as expected, I’m thorough.
A meticulous 4-year-old. The cool Melony!

I started scribbling drawings with my one and only crayon.

The first thing I drew was a small child.
‘My current age is 4, and Bramshua closed its doors when I was 4….’

Bramshua will be closing soon.
Because the Pantebe Duchy will expose the secrets of this place.
That Bramshua is a prison holding innocent people.

‘Sigh. My goal for this life is simple.’

To survive, living a long, thin, and ordinary life.
It’s my second life, but I don’t want to live like my previous one.

‘To do that, the most important thing is-.’

First. Hide my ability.
Second. Don’t let the orphanage director steal my compensation money.

I looked around with slightly trembling eyes.
‘Ah, there’s no one, right?’

And then, a moment later.
As I focused a tiny bit of power, a bluish light shimmered around my hand, and a pattern surfaced.
“Gasp.”
I quickly withdrew the power and looked around again. Fortunately, there were no watching eyes.
Phew.

I let out a sigh of relief and fretfully stroked the back of my hand.
‘As I thought, I can use my ability.’

I’ve been checking whenever I’m alone these past few days, and the result is always the same.

‘Why on earth can I use my ability already?’
Before the regression, I could only use it after I turned 18…

‘Whatever the reason, I must absolutely hide my ability.’

I need to hide it tightly, as if it doesn’t even exist. I don’t want to be held back because of this stupid ability again.

‘But what about the orphanage?’

I can just not use my ability, but the orphanage…
‘If I go to the same place, I’ll definitely have my money stolen again.’
Ugh.

I drew the monstrous-looking director on the sketchbook and then slashed big X’s over it.

In the past, after Bramshua closed.
All the sisters and brothers I lived with received compensation money and separate residences.
This was possible because the Pantebe family, the wealthiest in the empire, was in charge of handling Bramshua’s aftermath.

But I was a child without a guardian, so I was sent to a temple-affiliated orphanage along with a hefty compensation sum—
‘They mistreated me, starved me, hit me.’

They even took all of my compensation money. They must have gambled it away for sure.
I mean, are priests even allowed to do that?

That’s when it started.
My distrust of the temple.

‘Sob. My hard-earned money…’

I drew the X’s over the director with even more passion.

Then, feeling drained, I stopped my hand and pouted my lips.
‘…I want to go to a different orphanage.’

A decent place.
A place that won’t steal my compensation money.
A place that gives me three meals a day—no, even two meals are fine—and where I don’t have to share one blanket between three people, but maybe just two.

‘But that’ll be difficult, right…?’

How could I possibly choose an orphanage?
*Sniffle*

I felt like I might cry, so I just sniffled my dry nose.

“No! Melony, be strong!”
*Pat, pat*

I patted my chubby cheeks and pulled myself together.

Surely, there must be a way.
They say even if you enter a dragon’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.
It’s my second life, let’s live it properly!

…Ouch.
‘But I think I slapped my cheeks a bit too hard.’

Next time, I’ll pat them gently.

And a few days after that.

I found a solution to the orphanage problem more quickly than I expected.
Thanks to the appearance of someone I had temporarily forgotten.

* * *

An ordinary lunchtime like any other.
Ding, ding, ding, ding—!

A clamorous bell sound rang out.
“Huh?”

While diligently scooping food with my spoon, I opened my eyes wide and looked towards the source of the sound.
What’s that noise?

However, unlike my surprise, the reactions around me were nonchalant.
“My, seems like a newbie has arrived.”
“Indeed. I wonder what kind of person it is this time.”

Jeanne, the sister on my left, and Ricky, the brother on my right, clicked their tongues and muttered.

‘Newbie?’

Ah, right.
They always rang the bell like this when a new person arrived at Bramshua.

‘But the timing is a bit ambiguous, isn’t it?’

Bramshua will be closing soon.
Was there a newbie around this time originally?

I groaned, wracking my brain to continue the thought.
Recalling the past wasn’t easy at all.

‘Newbie, newbie….’

Ah.
But blessings come to those who strive.
I finally succeeded in remembering the newbie’s existence.

‘That’s right. A newbie arrived right before Bramshua closed its doors.’

And that person was definitely…

While I was blankly lost in thought, a guard revealed himself.
“Hey, newbie! Come out and introduce yourself.”

At the guard’s sloppy words, a man followed him out.