During the short time on the bus, Yuna and I became quite close.
If there’s a slightly regrettable point, it’s that Seo Yu-na didn’t have any particular hobbies.
Even when trying to break the ice for a conversation, there was nothing we could find in common except for magic.
So, our chat naturally shifted to the Academy and magic.
“Was it you who used magic when I collapsed?!”
“You didn’t know? Who did you think it was?”
“I thought it was Teacher Jackie… How did you do it? It sparkled, and my neck didn’t hurt at all.”
“Want me to show you again? How about you open your mouth first?”
As I wiggled my index finger, Yuna seemed to finally understand what had happened and shook her head, feeling embarrassed.
Trying to cool her flushed face, she opened the window to let in some outside air.
“Just kidding. Actually, it’s magic that can be used anywhere on human skin or mucous membranes.”
“Didn’t your finger hurt then? I didn’t bite you too hard, did I?”
“Getting bitten by a little kid who doesn’t even have all their teeth doesn’t hurt at all, you know?”
Yuna gasped and covered her mouth with both hands.
“Then, Na-me, how many teeth do you have to tease me as a little kid?!”
Huh? Good point?
Why haven’t I grown any new teeth yet?
At this age, I should have lost at least four by now; I quickly misunderstood the situation.
Whether it’s a side effect of illness or medication, my body’s development was clearly lagging behind others.
It wasn’t a big problem, but the saddest fact was that I couldn’t grow taller quickly.
How long do I have to keep looking up at these guys?
“It’s a secret.”
“Whaaaat! Why are you hiding it from me?”
Yuna puffed up with pride, thinking she had discovered some weakness of mine, but I wasn’t going to let that slide.
“If you ask more, I’ll tell Si-hoo that you have bad breath!”
“Ugh.”
Our trivial chit-chat continued even after we got off the bus.
Talking with an elementary school student sounded childish, but Yuna was surprisingly fun to interact with.
So this is what it feels like to tease your nephew as an uncle.
As soon as the ‘princess’ concept from school shattered, Yuna showed raw emotions without holding back.
But before long, we hit a major obstacle.
“Do we have to go up here? Isn’t there another way?”
“Yep. If we get over these heavenly stairs, we’ll be home.”
I couldn’t count the steps. It looked like at least 500 when roughly calculated with triangles.
In this capitalist society, where everything runs purely on economic efficiency, they chose to install stairs over hills rather than making tunnels or detours.
The stairs to heaven felt so steep that I thought I’d ascend to the skies if I climbed them all.
Let’s just give it a shot.
If it doesn’t work, I could at least surround myself with an aura and force my way through.
“Did you fall here?”
“Yep. Be careful going up.”
“If you slip, it’s either heaven or hell.”
Or reincarnation.
Saying something horrible like that, hell might even be better.
*
“Ugh… huhhh…”
“Na-me, are you okay? Want to take a break?”
“Yeah… Just a little, sorry.”
I felt like I was dying.
Every muscle in my body sent sharp signals to one spot.
If Yuna poked my calf from the side, I’d probably cramp up right away.
“Hah… hah…”
“I’m sorry, we could’ve switched to another bus and gone back. I messed up again…”
“No, you said this way is faster. Let’s keep going without resting now.”
“Okay! Just hang in there.”
Since I seemed so pitiful scolding myself, taking a break felt awkward.
I wanted to go, and I was begging Yuna to do it, so I couldn’t be the one showing weakness.
Okay, time to stand up.
Yuna was in such good shape that after passing hundreds of steps, she jumped up one step, then jumped down two like a mountain goat.
The overflowing energy was hard to contain; she spun around and placed her hands on my back.
“We’re almost there!”
“Don’t push me…! It’s dangerous!”
“Hehe.”
Despite my request, Yuna just responded with her innocent smile.
She definitely reminded me quite a bit of the old Ah-rin.
While one seemed silly, the other was overly prickly, but both showed an unwavering affection towards their close friends.
“I’m just gonna play today, but starting tomorrow, I’ll study really hard.”
If it were any other kid, I would’ve scoffed at her, but her resolve came with a deadly aura.
“But we don’t have anything at home to play with.”
“Didn’t your mother say she’d be there?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“If I show her the magic I learned at the Academy, she’ll be happy.”
“But the teacher said not to use magic outside, remember?”
“Using magic up to the 2nd circle is fine.”
Since Yuna said her mother was quite ill, if she personally cast a healing spell like ‘Organ Regeneration,’ I was sure she would be proud.
I was just planning to silently supervise and see how she did.
“Here’s my house. It’s pretty old, but… if you talk bad about my house in front of my mom, I won’t let it go! I might cut ties with you…!”
“You mean that implies we’re already friends? Thanks for thinking that way.”
“Ah, anyway! Phew, huh. How should I introduce you to my mom? I’ve never brought a friend home before… What if she gets mad for not telling her?”
“If you worry about every little thing, you won’t live long.”
Knock, knock, knock.
Yuna stood in front of the door, grabbing her head in frustration, so I knocked on the door for her.
We didn’t hear any sounds from inside.
Yuna said her little brother might have stopped by the house but probably went out to deliver again.
Then she began pressing the digital door lock’s button pad repeatedly, which was neither iris recognition nor a fingerprint sensor.
“Mom, I’m home!”
She murmured the name of her most precious person.
“Mom, I said I’m home! Are you sleeping?”
The house was dark.
No matter how you looked at it, a house with a patient who couldn’t see well inside gave a shiver.
“Mom…?”
Yuna felt around the wall to find the switch for the room.
A fluorescent light flickered, illuminating the living room, master bedroom, and kitchen.
In the confined room, there were no traces of anyone.
“It can’t be…?”
Yuna’s pupils dilated.
In her haste, she couldn’t even drop her backpack as she flung the blanket aside, finding neither a shadow nor warmth of a person.
“It must not be…”
Yuna shook her head vigorously.
The innocent face was nowhere to be found; now, an inorganic groan slipped out.
A yellow note that had been attached inside the entrance door fell and fluttered down to my feet, unable to resist gravity.
“Seo Yu-na. Here.”
[Come to Severance Hospital right after school – Seo No-eul]
*
“Yes, Professor Chun. Yes. I’m going to my friend’s house today, so I’ll be home late. Yes, don’t wait for me; you can have dinner without me.”
The delicious Château Briand steak prepared by Professor Chun would have to be postponed to some distant future.
“Mom will be okay…? Ugh… huhuh.”
“If you’re really worried, should I call your brother?”
“No-eul’s phone was at home earlier… Why did I leave it? Mom… I miss you so much…”
As soon as we checked the note, Yuna dashed outside without even putting on her shoes.
The once lively Yuna turned pale like a corpse, losing her balance and repeatedly falling.
Just like when she helped me on the stairs, now it was my turn to drag her along.
“Thank you, really… If it weren’t for you, Na-me…”
I stopped Yuna, and we called a taxi to head to Gangnam Severance Hospital.
The distance that would have taken more than 1 hour and a half on foot only took 15 minutes by taxi.
Did she really plan to walk that far?
She would have run there if it were Seo Yu-na.
[Looks like she’s in pretty bad shape; I’ll take the quickest route, no traffic.]
The taxi driver, who had overheard our conversation, encouraged Yuna as if it were his own matter.
He was quite a warm-hearted person.
“Seo Yu-na, look at me.”
This girl had a tiny face, but where did all those tears come from?
Today had been a day full of crying for Yuna.
At school, on the bus, at home, and even in the taxi.
“Her eyes are totally swollen.”
I’d had my share of those times too.
When the person who was once my mother cruelly abandoned me and left me with an immense debt, my life couldn’t have been more miserable.
After that, I firmly vowed never to cry again, but when the lovely Niobe died in my past life, when my older siblings were consumed by darkness, when my mentor vanished, and when even my comrades and students perished before inevitable nightmares, I was always a weak being.
Just once, even one person.
My desire that someone would come to help me was only fulfilled at the very end of my life by Hiasen.
Life embodies the definition of the butterfly effect.
If that woman hadn’t abandoned me,
If I had even one friend who would extend a hand when bullied,
If I…
Acknowledging that all those “what ifs” were utterly meaningless is something everyone has to grapple with.
Whenever life seems devoid of answers, we always search for errors in the past. The more miserable the present and future seem, the more we do it.
The fact that I’m so involved in Yuna’s life,
That even now, when I wipe away Yuna’s tears, I’m careful not to irritate her skin as I lightly dab and clean,
If someone were to scold me for doing that, saying it’s purely personal and selfish behavior due to my trauma, I wouldn’t be able to argue back.
But so what?
Did you ever help me at all?
I was just a thirsty lamb longing for salvation, and I knew better than anyone that salvation didn’t have to be grandiose; it could be something simple.
A diligent kid who greets everyone with “hello” every morning at school could indeed become a reason for someone to live, especially for those who find their daily attendance a hellish endeavor.
