The crayon glided smoothly, leaving behind a pink mark on the paper.
Erina was lying in the corner, drawing on her sketchbook.
It had become a hobby she had thrown herself into for the past few days after receiving art supplies as a gift from Aunt. It was fun, and before she knew it, she was completely absorbed.
But this time, it wasn’t just for fun.
“Good.”
Ibailla, who was lying beside her, whispered in a hushed voice, covering her mouth with both hands.
“Ibailla, shh.”
For some reason, Erina felt the need to sound an alarm, even though it felt like it was too loud.
She had to keep it a secret and not show it to anyone until it was completed. Especially from Mom, she could never find out.
“Got it.”
Ibailla whispered even quieter than before. Her voice was now so low that it wouldn’t be heard outside.
Ruffling the hair of her obedient little sister lightly, Erina began to focus back on her drawing, tightly closing her mouth.
“……”
A calm silence enveloped the room. No one made a sound, creating a serene atmosphere.
The two sisters were used to such silence. In their previous home, no one had spoken loudly.
To be precise, it was only the people except for Dad who were quiet. According to the Holy Knight sister who often played with them, it was because they were the closest to the Goddess.
‘Isn’t the Goddess in the sky?’
Erina still couldn’t understand what that meant.
She had learned that the Goddess was like the Sun, looking down at the ground from her celestial throne. This attention was what they called sunlight.
If that was the case, wouldn’t the closest place be the mountaintop that touched the sky?
But their original house was on flat ground. Why was that? She suddenly felt curious, but at that moment, she couldn’t go ask Mom.
“Hey, do you think this will make Mom happy again?”
At that moment, Ibailla asked with a gloomy face. Erina had also been worried about this for a while.
“I don’t know either.”
Mom was terrifying when she got angry.
Normally, she was always kind and caring, but occasionally, she would get furious like fire. This usually happened when she was scolding Dad or the sisters.
She wouldn’t smile brightly, and her reprimands were so harsh that they could make tears well up, creating a fear that sometimes even crept into their dreams.
However, the sisters had never hated Mom, because she never scolded without a reason.
Most of the time, it was Erina and Ibailla who had done something wrong first.
Thus, they could only feel sorry. They felt sad thinking they might have hurt their kind Mom.
Additionally, they also felt a tinge of fear.
“What if Dad gets drunk and does something weird, and Mom ends up hating us?”
“……”
Erina recalled the image of Dad drunkenly ranting while Mom glared at him coldly.
Even thinking about it now made her shiver with fear at Mom’s fierce glare. If this continued, that sight might eventually be directed at the sisters.
“Let’s make sure to cheer her up!”
“Yeah.”
The two exchanged determined glances before diving back into their drawings. Once again, they fell into a silence that stretched on for a while.
How long had they been focused?
“It’s done.”
Finally, the drawing was complete.
Next to it, Ibailla had written something too. It was the Korean language she had been learning bit by bit.
The sisters briefly checked for any deficiencies in the drawing before standing up.
“Let’s go show her.”
“Sis, I’m nervous.”
“It’s fine!”
Erina boldly patted her sister’s back as they decided to head into the living room.
But just then, the door suddenly burst open.
“Hey, girls.”
It was Dad. For some reason, he was smiling brightly.
Even though he usually tried to keep a smile on his face, right now, it was even more exaggerated.
“Come here.”
Soon, Dad lifted the sisters up high in the air.
Sniff, she caught a faint smell of mana. Evidence of magic being used.
‘Magic at home?’
Having learned a bit of magic, Erina quickly put two and two together. This didn’t seem like ordinary magic.
What could he have done? What if he’d gotten himself into trouble again? She felt a wave of anxiety.
Seeing Dad getting scolded was a common scene, but every time, it weighed heavily on her heart. Seeing kind Mom angry was something she found particularly hard to bear.
“Dad is weird.”
Ibailla murmured with a frown. Since Erina was thinking the same thing, she quietly nodded in agreement.
As the sisters were feeling anxious, Dad entered the master bedroom and slowly closed the door.
With the click of the door completely shutting, suddenly the surroundings morphed.
“…Huh?”
“What is this?”
Erina and Ibailla’s eyes widened simultaneously.
There was no wonder in that, for the master bedroom had turned into the stage of the series they were hooked on, “Sparkle Jewel.”
“Go on.”
Eventually, Dad set the sisters down on the floor. They rushed toward the stage as if they had made a pact.
On the stage stood someone waiting for them.
Though only the face was shadowed, identifying them wasn’t difficult.
“Princess!”
With an elegant and vibrant pink dress, and hair elegantly braided, it was undeniably a princess.
“Welcome.”
Soon, a familiar voice rang out as the shadowed face was revealed.
With a microphone at her mouth and an awkward smile, it wasn’t the cartoon’s main character ‘Ara.’ She was even prettier and kinder.
“Mom!”
Erina waved her hands, jumping joyfully. Ibailla cautiously waved along from her side.
Mom responded with a bright smile.
“Make sure you hold hands tightly so you don’t get hurt.”
The sisters immediately reached for each other’s hands. They even held them up high just in case they couldn’t see.
Mom nodded approvingly and slowly began to speak, her face flushed.
“Please watch closely. I’ve prepared this for you both.”
With those words, music started to play from all directions, and soon the performance began.
– “I was walking through a snowy wilderness.”
A soothing song filled the air. Though it was their first time hearing it, it brought a comforting feeling. Thanks to a beautiful voice.
– “Once again, alone, time passing me by.”
The face of the one singing looked wistful, wearing the same lonely expression they’d seen when Dad messed up.
Feeling bittersweet as they watched, the song steadily moved toward its climax.
– “I won’t shiver in the cold anymore.”
Unlike the beginning, hope radiated through the lyrics now. The music brightened up progressively.
Just as smiles began to bloom on the sisters’ faces, the princess raised one hand high.
From her palm, pink light began to pour out, like countless butterflies and fluttering spring flowers.
Simultaneously, wings spread from the back of her dress. Large shimmering wings like those of the angel they had seen before.
– “No one can confine me here.”
With a calm declaration, the princess began to ascend slowly into the sky.
Followed by flapping her enormous wings, she soared freely around the stage, showering pink snowflakes onto the ground.
It was a spectacle they couldn’t take their eyes off. Erina said to Ibailla, not even blinking.
“You look great. Right?”
“Yeah….”
Truly, Mom was the most beautiful in the world.
*
The show ended.
As soon as the song concluded, the performance hall vanished, and the master bedroom appeared again. Liam had dispelled the illusionary magic.
I dragged my heavier body over to the chair and sat down. I took a moment to catch my breath.
‘…I couldn’t do this a second time.’
Even though it was just a performance lasting a little over four minutes, I was already exhausted.
Focusing not just on singing but also on the performance was harder than I expected. Being an idol was much more challenging than it seemed.
Moreover, it felt embarrassing. When I was fully concentrated, it was all right, but after it was over, my face turned red again.
If I had done this in front of a broadcast, I would have been dealing with aftereffects for a while. It was definitely the right decision to do this only in front of my daughters.
Still, I was glad I managed to finish it safely.
“How was it?”
I cautiously asked, and the daughters who had been standing still approached me eagerly. They both had glimmering eyes.
Did they like it? Unlike during dinner when they had looked worried, their faces seemed happy now. I was relieved to see them this way, making me feel good too.
Even if I was a little embarrassed, if my daughters were happy, it was worth it. After all, I had prepared this for them.
“Mom, this.”
While I was smiling happily, Erina suddenly handed me her sketchbook that she had been hugging. Now that I thought about it, she had been holding onto it since we entered the master bedroom.
“Open it.”
“Show me.”
For some reason, the daughters were stiff now, unlike before.
Erina’s eyes were trembling, and Ibailla gulped nervously. They looked tense.
What could they have drawn? With a puzzled mind, I opened the sketchbook.
On the first page was a short, plump black dragon. Hekatrith.
“You’ve drawn this very well.”
Honestly speaking, even better than Hainha. It seemed Erina had a unique talent for art too.
After all, she was my daughter. I kept flipping through the pages with a satisfied smile.
It seemed like she had drawn everything she could see at home out of fascination. TV, sofa, cola, snack bags, etc. Mostly still lifes.
As I observed each image carefully while turning the pages…
“This is….”
I recognized a familiar figure in what seemed like the most recent drawing.
With pink hair and dressed in white robes. Although the face was hard to discern, it was undeniably me. I was captured smiling widely.
Next to the drawing were some words written too.
[Mom, I love you.]
In crooked, uneven letters that showed it was still a newly learned skill.
However, it didn’t look ugly at all. Every single letter was filled with emotion.
“……”
My eyes began to well up. Just like the moment when my daughters first called me ‘Mom.’
I immediately pulled my daughters in for a gentle hug.
“I’m sorry for being angry.”
Erina and Ibailla embraced me tightly. Their warmth enveloped me, warming my heart.
“I love you, Mom.”
“Me too.”
Today, I was the happiest person in the world.
*
“Did you film it?”
“Here.”
Seo-yoon received the smartphone she had entrusted to her brother-in-law, wearing a smug smile.
‘I told you to think about work even while resting…!’
As the Pope’s manager, she was only making the best choices and harbored little personal vendetta, just a tiny bit.
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