Inside the Summer (1)
Two days later.
Kwaaaaah—!
The healing water that Aqua had made was sucked into the healing water bottles.
Aqua patted her shoulders proudly and lifted her head high.
"Thanks."
Jang Gilsan carefully packed up Aqua's healing water.
To prepare for the battle with Niagara, he'd paid the full 220 million won worth of healing water for external injuries. To be precise, each bottle of Aqua's healing water was worth 40 million won, so after filling the sixth bottle, he'd paid an extra 20 million. Of course, he'd received it all in magic stones, which I'd swept straight into the Spirit Shop.
I immediately bought two spirit stones and popped them into Aqua's mouth.
Aqua sucked on the spirit stones like they were candy.
My Spirit Affinity had risen to C-rank, but it was still impossible to fully cover Aqua's manifestation costs in the human world. Still, I could now shoulder a decent portion of the burden, so the frequency with which Aqua needed to consume spirit stones had dropped sharply.
4,435 coins
And the result was steadily piling up as leftover coins.
"Gonna take some spirit stones this time too?"
"Of course."
Jang Gilsan placed 10 million won worth of magic stones on the table. As I recharged them, I asked,
"Is there something worth researching in these spirit stones too?"
Jang Gilsan, who had packed the healing water into a bag and handed it to his secretary, nodded.
"Yeah. Curious?"
"Can I know?"
"Suppliers have a right to know where their goods end up."
Aqua turned her eyes toward Jang Gilsan, munching on her spirit stone. She looked curious too.
"Tell us where Aqua's healing water is being used."
"Thirty percent goes to rehab for hunters injured in gates."
Potions were better for healing wounds, but for long-term rehab from old injuries, healing water was far superior.
Rehab, huh.
It was welfare befitting Korea's top corporation.
"Another thirty percent goes to our chairman for health tonics."
"……."
That was an unexpected answer. But I already knew plenty of wealthy folks drank healing water like it was some herbal tonic. That was why so many freelance water spirit users existed among spirit contractors.
"The rest is for cosmetics research."
"Getting into cosmetics?"
Union Guild was a sprawling conglomerate octopus, but they didn't have a cosmetics subsidiary yet.
"Just researching for now."
"And the spirit stones?"
"Research into tech that transfers mana from magic stones into spirit stones."
"Mana from magic stones?"
"Spirit stones hold spirit power, right? The researchers say their structure is unique. A bit more study, and they think they can store magic stone mana too."
I didn't get the details since it wasn't my field, but it sounded like groundbreaking tech.
Aqua nodded as if she'd understood perfectly. But anyone could tell she hadn't a clue.
I chuckled softly and handed the now-empty spirit stone that Aqua had finished to Jang Gilsan. He passed it to his secretary too.
Aqua snuggled into my arms. Her belly was full, and she wanted to nap drowsily.
Mandu quickly wedged himself between us.
We laughed and checked the Spirit Shop together. It was a new quest day.
As I went to open the quest window, something caught my eye.
The random box I'd gotten as a quest reward a few days ago was in storage. It was still unopened.
I'll open this when the feeling's right.
I wanted to open random boxes on lucky days. Who knew—I might even get the Water Creation skill that every water spirit user dreamed of.
I opened the quest window.
A new quest awaited us.
Spirit Realm Tour.
Show the Spirit Realm to your spirit user who has never been there before.
Reward: Spirit user's growth.
The Spirit Realm.
We had exactly three days until our appointment with the Earth Spirit King, Uluru. It felt like a custom quest tailored to our situation.
Back when we were prepping for the showdown with Niagara, I got that 'Don't send Aqua' quest too.
The Spirit Shop was definitely a special unique trait. Not just a shop—it felt like it was guiding our path and offering wisdom.
……Huh?
Then, something off about the quest gave me a strange sense of déjà vu.
As I pondered what it was, Aqua let out a gasp.
Only then did I recognize the déjà vu I'd felt. Our very first quest had been "Human World Tour" for Aqua. Now it was the reverse: "Spirit Realm Tour" for me.
We looked at each other.
A ticklish, bubbly sensation filled our chests—something like camaraderie, or kinship, too deep for words, making us want to burst out laughing.
"Ahahaha!"
We burst into laughter and hugged each other tight.
Mandu tilted his head in confusion, then happily joined the group hug.
"Three days until Uluru's invitation."
"Let's tour the Spirit Realm and have a blast."
In our embraced arms, anticipation for a joyful future brimmed over.
* * *
It was almost time for the final ad video to go up on the Phoenix Resort YouTube channel.
Phoenix Resort had produced five ad videos in total.
Four have been released so far. The wave pool one was the most popular.
It was the first one, sure, but Aqua's cuteness really hooked viewers.
To watch the ad together, I connected Jang Gilsan's beam projector to my laptop.
"Last ad video, huh?"
"Theme was wave pool surfing, right?"
My friends settled on the sofa, voices full of anticipation.
Moments later, the ad started playing on the connected projector.
Shwaaak—!
The ad opened with a surfboard slicing stylishly through a wave. Shot from a waterproof camera on the board's nose, it didn't show who was surfing. After about four seconds focused on the board, the camera pulled back to capture the surfer.
It was Aqua surfing.
Shwaak—!
Aqua surfed along the wave's face. Right behind her, the wave crashed in pursuit.
Aqua narrowly escaped the wave and pulled off a stylish turn to stop the board.
Another placement to prevent those 5-second skips.
No one seeing Aqua surf would think of hitting skip.
Han Deuri, watching the ad, muttered,
"But she can't actually surf in the wave pool."
He meant it was just an allowed event for the shoot. Han Areum replied,
"Ads are all like that. The image matters. Image of the Spirit King surfing the wave pool."
"Image, huh……."
"But like I said last time, Aqua surfs really well."
Aqua's shoulders puffed up instantly.
"Ah, you taught her, sunbae? Teach me too!"
"Hyungnim, me too!"
The tall, beautiful siblings sparkled at me. I smiled faintly.
"Of course. Let's pick a day next time and go surfing."
The ad's highlight was me and Aqua riding parallel waves. It ended with us gazing at each other affectionately, followed by the Phoenix Resort logo.
I checked my phone, and sure enough, a message from marketing team leader Han Dong-su.
Sending the thanks made me feel a bit bittersweet. The relief of finishing a job, mixed with a touch of lingering attachment.
If the results are good, maybe we'll renew for more.
I set my phone aside. In the meantime, Aqua had been fiddling with the laptop.
She was browsing an OTT platform—probably wanted to watch a movie.
Aqua, noticing my gaze, pointed at the laptop screen.
Aqua had picked Seventh Sense, a twisty thriller with summer-vibe horror and plenty of heart—a classic masterpiece.
I've seen it, but it's worth rewatching multiple times.
The others agreed with the movie choice.
"Alright. Want me to grab some snacks?"
Suk's place was overflowing with snacks and treats Jang Gilsan had bought. We each grabbed our faves—potato chips, jerky—and gathered in the living room.
I hit play and leaned back on the sofa. Aqua grabbed a cola and climbed onto my lap.
Her cool body temperature chilled me refreshingly.
Mandu ignored the movie entirely, zeroing in on the tray of snacks.
Maybe because it was such a masterpiece, we hit the end credits in a flash.
Aqua's mouth hung open in shock. Spirits really had low hurdles for this stuff.
Aqua nodded repeatedly in awe.
She was enjoying it so much, I felt proud myself.
Aqua spent the next five minutes gushing her thoughts. I listened with a smile, taking it all in.
Sunset light filtering through the curtains, cooled by AC and Aqua's chill. The acrid herbal scent of mosquito coils mingling with sweet watermelon. And Aqua's chirpy voice on top.
Another summer day etched into my heart's photo album.
* * *
We'd finished the movie and were cleaning up.
As I packed the beam projector, I spotted something: the remote.
It even has a laser pointer.
Probably the one Jang Gilsan used for guild presentations. For fun, I aimed it at the blank wall.
Played with these a ton as a kid.
I drew a few circles on the wall. As I went to turn it off,
Aqua noticed the laser.
Aqua tilted her head at the red dot on the blank wall. When I moved the laser right, her head followed.
Well, look at that?
A grin spread across my face. I started moving the laser in earnest.