Unknowingly, the beetle has become accustomed to living with the old man.

But one day, it was clear that the time had come, but the old man did not come.

The beetle stared at the store door for a long, long time.

From sunrise to dusk, the door that should have been pushed open long ago remained motionless.

The old man...didn't come.

The store is very dark and quiet.

The closed environment makes the smell of book pages more mellow.

Smells very good.

It should have made the beetles salivate.

But the beetle found that it missed the sweet taste of honey water.

...

The beetle is lying on the cashier counter, which is closest to the door.

It determines time through the light transmitted through the door gap.

…

The next afternoon, some sleepy beetles heard the noise coming from the door.

It immediately stood up and its eyes glowed.

However, after waiting for a long time, the beetle discovered that the person at the door had left.

Moreover, it just realized that it was not.

Those were not the footsteps of an old man.

After several years of getting along with each other, he understands the elderly far better than he thought.

…

Over the next few days, there was no movement at the door.

All I heard was the vague sound of traffic coming through the door panel.

Pedestrians were coming and going outside, but no one was the person it was waiting for.

…

"Wow~"

The rolling door outside was pulled up.

The sudden sound startled the beetle, and then the sunlight pouring in made it slightly squint its eyes.

The fresh air rushes in, bringing... the smell of strangers.

The beetle opened its eyes wide.

stranger.

But...somewhat like an old man.

Is it the old man's child?

Although it always stays in the bookstore, the old man has also taught it a lot of human knowledge in the past few years.

The old man told it that he had three children, two sons and a daughter.

Is this... his son?

He really looks like the old man.

But, they just look alike.

Different.

The breath is different.

Where is the old man?

The beetle looked behind the man, then looked startled.

There is no one left.

"Where's grandpa?"

The beetle couldn't help but look at the man a little anxiously and asked loudly.

This name is derived from the old man coaxing it with honey water.

I actually don't quite understand the meaning of this title.

But at that time, it was captured by the sweet honey water, so it obeyed the old man's wishes.

It feels like it, and it's not a bad title.

Seeing the old man looking at it so expectantly, it didn't mind satisfying the old man's request.

…

However, it received no response.

The man casually placed an envelope on the cashier counter.

"Hello!"

"Where's grandpa?"

The beetle took a deep breath and increased the volume a bit.

The man walked towards the lined bookshelves.

Its voice still echoes in the air.

The beetle, who only felt his anger welling up, suddenly froze.

It...forgot.

This man is not an old man.

The old man can see it.

But this person...can't see it.

…

The beetle suddenly lost interest.

The failure of expectations made it feel irritable and wanted to do something, but it was too lazy to move.

It's been waiting for so many days.

My eyes were sore.

Finally, the door opened, but the person it was waiting for still didn't show up.

what is this?

It was obviously the same day as the countless days before. The old man smiled and said to it -

"See you tomorrow."

…

"fraud."

The beetle muttered softly.

This is already the first few tomorrows.

It's angry.

It hates humans who don't keep their word.

Only if the old man gave it three small dishes of honey water and a corner of a book page would it forgive him.

The old man always said that it is not good to eat too much sweet things, so he should control the amount of honey water he drinks.

It's dismissive.

It's not that fragile as humans.

Although... its power is not very strong.

However, its body is still strong.

What's wrong with eating more sweet things?

No problem at all.

No matter how it protested, the old man was very determined.

It was so angry that it bit the newspaper the old man was reading into a mess.
To be continued...