The Library (1)
After finishing my promotional ambassador duties, I had a meal with the sisters and sent them off in a taxi all the way to Seoul. The fare from Samcheok to Seoul was enormous, but it wasn't a penny wasted for those two.
I returned to the guesthouse under the invisible escort of the bodyguards Jang Gilsan had assigned. In the living room, Han Areum and Han Deuri, who had come back first, were watching TV with Jang Gilsan.
[We're back!]
Aqua burst in with a booming greeting. Han Areum and Han Deuri welcomed us enthusiastically.
"The Samcheok City promotional ambassador is here!"
"Ooh, a person doing national duties!"
Jang Gilsan nodded at me.
"The fan club execs gone?"
"Yeah."
"Good work, sunbae! Aqua too!"
[It was fun!]
Han Deuri looked glum.
"I wanted to hang out with the fan club folks too..."
"Can't you think of them a little, dongsaeng?" Han Areum patted her brother's shoulder with a gentle expression. "If you approach women under 170cm, the terror they feel is beyond your imagination."
Han Deuri stayed glum. Even guys near 180cm see you as a terror nearly rose to my throat, but I barely kept it down.
[Yep!]
As I sat on the sofa, Aqua flung herself at me. I caught her softly and settled her on my lap.
[Hee hee hee!]
She still hadn't come down from the day's excitement. I scooped up Terra too and put her on my lap. Mandu, stuffed full from the after-party feast, claimed a spot by the window and started dozing.
"Shall we read some fan club comments?"
[Let's!]
I pulled over the laptop nearby and logged into the fan club site. A post Aqua had uploaded herself right after the camera shoot a few hours ago popped up immediately.
Aqua's fan club spanned students to housewives, men and women, young and old alike.
And foreigners and spirits too. Cuteness truly transcended cultures and generations, drawing affection from all.
[Hee hee hee!]
Aqua excitedly replied to every single comment one by one. She frequented the water spirit community too, but this Aqua fan club was our most special place. It was the first spot after my parents where we'd reported our survival post-Spirit Realm visit.
[Fan club...]
Terra watched in fascination as Aqua deftly handled the replies.
"That's the tribute camera?" Jang Gilsan spotted the camera I'd brought and asked. Han Areum and Han Deuri gaped in curiosity too.
"Tribute? Whoa... Thought only idols got that."
"No joke. Aqua's super famous, right?"
[Of course! Am I not the Spirit King!]
Aqua's pride erupted. We all smiled at the fountain sprouting from her shoulder.
* * *
The next day, we headed to the city library.
Terra wants to study.
Help Terra satisfy her curiosity in the human world.
🎁 Reward: Spirit growth.
It was to complete Terra's quest.
This is my first time here too. The Samcheok City Library had only opened early this year. But from kids tagging along with parents to job seekers studying, crowds already navigated it familiarly.
No one recognized us. Full armor: masks and sunglasses.
Spirits won't be spotted unless materialized. No interruptions to our time.
[Humans build such tall houses from earth.]
Terra murmured from my chest pocket. She'd gawked wide-eyed at the city skyscrapers from the taxi.
Skyscrapers in Seoul would knock her over.
I chuckled inwardly as Terra asked,
[Is that the library?]
She'd been hyped since yesterday's talk.
"Yeah. Tons of books you wanna see inside."
I felt Terra tense against my chest in anticipation.
[So many kids!]
Aqua smiled at the children playing in the small garden out front. Spirits were dematerialized. With my mask and shades, no one would spot us.
Can't cause a ruckus in a library.
The tall siblings had gone golfing with Jang Gilsan. Today: me, three spirits, and our stealthy bodyguards tailing.
I carried the spirits into the first-floor children's reading room.
"Look, strollers."
[Oh! That's what babies ride!]
To divert from the "Children's" sign that might puff Aqua's cheeks, I hustled through the screen door.
Unlike the adult comprehensive room, the kids' area felt like a playroom. Children sat on beaded cushions and animal sofas reading, or families hunkered in reading nooks.
"Mommy! Read this!"
"Daddy, find this book!"
Aqua grinned, soaking in the kids' voices.
Aqua really loves children.
I set bag and spirits in an empty reading nook.
"Now grab books you want and bring 'em here."
[Ooh! A cave!]
[Chit!]
Aqua and Mandu dove into the nook's pillows. Fluffy heaven—they rolled, hugging cushions gleefully.
[A soft cave.]
Even Terra, who treated the Spirit Realm's giant cave like home, found this novel. After probing the nook's texture, she turned to me.
[I want to look for books.]
"Let's go. I'll show you how to search and find them."
* * *
Three hours later.
"...The child shouted, 'The emperor's walking naked!' The adults started murmuring too. 'A child wouldn't lie!'..."
I read a fairy tale for Aqua.
[Right! Kids don't lie!]
Aqua lay chin on my knee, kicking feet excitedly to my story.
"...So the emperor shut himself in the palace from shame."
I finished, closing the book.
[What a fool king!]
Aqua giggled, rolling her head on my thigh.
[Believing what you can't see yourself—what's he gonna do!]
"Aqua, if someone tried tricking you, what would you do?"
Aqua answered matter-of-factly.
[Ask you!]
That praiseworthy reply brought a smile. It hit home again how crucial my reliability was.
I'm the head of this family.
Aqua, Terra, Mandu—all my kids. Ones I must protect and nurture.
I stroked Aqua's forehead, checking the others' reading.
The nook brimmed with book piles now.
[Chit!]
Mandu devoured a comic passionately. Old Korean "Dragon Slayer." Short legs struggled with pages, but he powered through solo. I stroked his wing base, then turned to Terra.
[Oh...!]
Terra pored over an encyclopedia. Kids' edition with pics and drawings. She'd zipped from solar system to dinosaurs.
Might be tough, but her sparkling eyes said no issue.
"Fun?"
Terra blinked from the book a beat late.
[Yes.]
Her voice held new fervor.
[So amazing. So fun.]
Terra caressed the encyclopedia tenderly.
[Universe... planets... dinosaurs... So this is how this world is. These beings lived in the human world. All... buried in earth now.]
Terra met my eyes.
[So much to study.]
She beamed Uluru-like warmth, thrilled.
I smiled softly, petting her head.
Terra wants to study quest completed.
Do you wish to claim the reward?
Terra's first quest done.
[Ooh!]
[Chit!]
Aqua and Mandu reacted to the familiar alert.
[Hm?]
Terra looked up late. Aqua hugged her tight.
[Congrats! First quest complete!]
Terra finally spotted the floating quest window.
[Oh...]
Her mouth rounded in wonder. I knelt to her eye level, pointing at the window.
"Claim the reward?"
Terra's eyes hit "Do you wish to claim the reward?" Slowly, she nodded.
Reward granted.
Spirit grows.
New power infuses the spirit.
[Ooooh!]
Aqua gasped in admiration. —opposite Aqua's .
Earth spirits are called the Spirit Realm's ultimate shields. Now with specialty, her defense likely rivaled Uluru's.
"Heh heh heh."
I chuckled, petting Terra's head. She set the encyclopedia aside, staring at her hands. Her cute butt-planted gaze downward made my lips curl.
[Feels... stronger somehow.]
Terra examined her hands, then sprang up facing Aqua.
[Wrestle.]
Aqua blinked wide-eyed, then grinned.
[You're on!]