Friends (2)
That petty jealousy made me grin despite myself.
Aqua, acting spoiled for me.
The fact that there was a being in this world who liked me so much, who craved my love this badly—it sent my spirits soaring. And along with that came a slightly ignoble thrill of possessiveness: I was the only one Aqua acted spoiled for.
I surrendered to the joy and opened my mouth.
"Alright then, shall our Aqua have some cola too?"
I scooped her up into my arms like I was feeding a baby from a bottle.
[Eung?]
Sensing something off, Aqua puffed out her cheeks in protest.
[I'm not a child!]
"Here comes the cola."
[Eung?]
I tilted the cola toward Aqua's mouth. She gave up resisting and reflexively opened wide.
Gulp, gulp, gulp. I poured it in little by little.
When her tiny mouth was full, I stopped tilting the can.
Gulp!
Aqua swallowed and let out a [Kya!]
"One more sip?"
[More!]
Forgetting her protests, Aqua urged me on excitedly.
A fond, uncle-like smile spread across everyone's faces at the table.
* * *
After a hearty meal, we returned to our room and flopped onto the blankets, rolling around lazily.
Today's plan was pure healing. Just vegging out, doing nothing.
A reward for the hectic past few days.
The ultimate healing is rolling around with spirits.
I hugged Aqua and Mandu tight to my chest. Their drowsy bodies were soft as could be.
I buried my face between them and took a deep breath. Their spirits' fresh, fragrant scent filled my nose.
[Hee hee hee!]
[Sisit!]
My breath tickled, and they giggled softly.
As we lay there for a good while, cheerful voices drifted in from the open window—people playing at the beach since morning.
Listening to them, I suddenly felt like heading out.
"Stuck inside, my body's all stiff and restless."
Thanks to yesterday's interview, the reporters and scouts had thinned out. But to avoid stirring up trouble, I planned to stay in until the attention fully died down.
[Stiff and restless?]
"It means I'm antsy."
[What's an ant?]
Spirits were fluent in all languages. More precisely, since spirit tongue was the language of nature, they could communicate with anyone, regardless of nation or race.
But that didn't mean they knew every word's nuance.
"It means I've got energy to burn and need to let it out somewhere."
[Aha! Like the sylphs!]
Jeong Ri-on's sylphs popped into my head. Always overflowing with energy, they rarely walked—preferring to dash or fly everywhere.
"Yeah... something like that."
[Today's you is sylph-like!]
Aqua giggled as if it were the funniest joke.
Listening to her laughter and the kids' voices outside, I slowly spoke up.
"Aqua. Want to do a commercial?"
[Commercial?]
Aqua tilted her head.
"Remember that guy at the water park who asked us to shoot one?"
[Oh! I do!]
"It came up again yesterday. If you want, we'll do it. Sound good?"
[You'll be there too?]
"Of course."
[I want to!]
Aqua's eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. As expected, she'd never turn down a shoot with me along.
Anything we did together was a delight for her.
[Hee hee hee! It'll be fun!]
Aqua beamed innocently. No need to hit the beach—the brightest sparkle, outshining any wave, was right before my eyes.
* * *
The Salamander's Plumping Season
📍 Objective: Help your still-small salamander grow.
🎁 Reward: Spirit user's growth. Spirit's growth.
[Sisit?]
Mandu eyed the quest window curiously. Ever since contracting with me, he could now see the Spirit Shop and quests too.
[A quest to turn Mandu into a Pigmander!]
Aqua covered her mouth, giggling.
Grow Mandu...
He had gotten a bit bigger lately. From fitting in my palm to matching its size now.
Just feed him well?
There was no research on baby salamander growth. Aside from Mandu, contracted salamanders were all adults—and they just got fat, not bigger.
I bought the quest right away. No hesitation.
[Hee hee hee! Time to become a pig!]
Aqua tickled Mandu's belly.
[Sisissit!]
Mandu nipped gently at her fingers.
I pulled out my phone and snapped a pic.
Click!
Aqua turned at the sound, grinning at me. I captured that too.
[Show me!]
They both beamed at the photos.
[Hee hee hee!]
"Hey, shall we check our Nutube?"
[Oh! Let's!]
We opened Nutube and went to the Haynaru Guesthouse channel.
I thought I'd gone to the wrong channel at first.
[Eung?]
"8.8...?"
We blinked at each other.
I'd expected some uptick—Aqua was a Spirit King now, after all.
But 8.8 million? Near ten million.
[8.8 million people watched our videos?]
Aqua gaped at me in disbelief.
I was speechless for a moment. 8.8 million views meant 8.8 million viewers, sure—but it hit different.
Nearly ten million worldwide watched us...
Hard to fathom. But it sure felt great.
Especially seeing comments in all languages calling Aqua cute or congratulating her ascension.
So that's why spirit users do Nutube.
Spirit videos counted as kids' content, no monetization. But the love and attention kept them posting.
"Heh heh heh..."
The more comments praising and adoring Aqua, the wider my grin grew.
[Hee hee hee!]
Aqua was reading every one, hitting likes.
After an hour of comment-devouring, we checked the water spirit community.
What the...?
The banner had changed entirely. The site's header was now all Aqua pics.
The vibe was unusually pumped. Normally like a PTA meeting full of spirit chit-chat, today it brimmed with pride.
Then a HOT post caught my eye.
Clicking it unleashed dozens of photos and text.
[Oh! That's Samcheok!]
Top was Samcheok Bus Terminal.
Next: markets, streets.
Aqua giggled watching.
[Of course! It's where we live!]
Then Haynaru Guesthouse and Phoenix Resort.
Ended with "Pilgrimage complete!"
Comments were explosive.
Aqua asked, [What's a holy site pilgrimage?]
"Following famous spots or places celebs have been to."
[Celebs... Right! We're seen by 8.8 million!]
Aqua puffed up proudly. Mandu chuckled at her.
Naturally, we hit the fan club cafe next.
[Oh! Membership's up!]
From slow growth via mermaid challenge, now 20,000 overnight.
[20,000...!]
Aqua's eyes sparkled.
I grinned. "Spirit King deserves at least this much, right?"
[Heh heh heh! Naturally!]
Aqua held her head high, nose shining proudly.
We posted a welcome message. Aqua wrote it.
Thank you all for your love and support. I wish blessings upon you all.
I read it twice, thrice, then nodded.
And asked, "This isn't a scam, is it?"
[Scam?]
"Way different from your usual speech."
[What's wrong with it?]
"Well... um..."
I pondered.
You usually talk cuter.
Shed puff her cheeks. Or same if I played a recording.
"Nah."
Cowardly silence it was. "Must've misread."
Aqua tilted her head but hit post.
[Hee hee hee! My first post!]
[Can't wait for replies!]
Ding!
Notification—a reply already.
[Ooh! Already?]
Aqua checked eagerly.
I ducked my head, stifling laughter at the content.
[......Eung?]
Aqua sounded dumbfounded.