A Rainy Day
A Rainy Day
Plop— Plip—
The sky was dark with pitch-black thunderclouds.
From that dreary sky, raindrops fell, tapping against the window before sliding down the glass.
"Nnngh~!!"
Poke.
"Eek?!"
Idni, who had been sitting on Baek Ha-na's bed enjoying a nice stretch, yelped as Maria suddenly jabbed her belly button, hastily yanking her shirt back down.
"Wh-What?"
"No reason. It just looked too cute."
"......What is that supposed to mean?"
At Maria's unexpected reply, Idni's expression turned a little embarrassed as she flopped onto the bed.
"It's cramped."
"Is this your bed?"
Nam Seo-hee, who had already claimed Baek Ha-na's bed before Idni, pushed her away with her hip when Idni lay down right next to her. Idni, unwilling to lose, pressed herself tightly against Nam Seo-hee's side.
It was an ordinary weekday, a week before the festival.
At Baek Woo-jin's recommendation, Nam Seo-hee had naturally joined Claire's training two weeks ago, and after training, she spent time with her friends, just like today.
"Shh."
While Nam Seo-hee and Idni were competing over Baek Ha-na's pillow, Baek Ha-na, who was sitting by the window with Lee Na-young in her arms, turned her head and silenced them.
"...We'll see about this later."
"Hmph."
Idni, who normally would have grumbled a few words, backed down without fuss. Nam Seo-hee also kept her mouth shut, not adding her usual extra jab.
Plip, plip-plip—
Once the two girls quieted, the gentle sound of rain once again filled the room with clarity.
-Peep.......
The Fairy, seated before the window, pressed a tiny palm against the glass and let out a sad cry.
Just a while ago, even when they had come out of the bath together, the Fairy had been excited. But ever since she'd learned they couldn't go outside to play today, the Fairy had stayed like that, just staring out at the rain.
"Can't you do something about her...?"
"...Be quiet."
Idni whispered softly, and Maria gently pinched her cheek before sneaking over to Baek Ha-na.
"Ha-na. Wouldn't just a little while be okay?"
"No."
"Nnngh...."
Maria frowned at Baek Ha-na's firm answer, but that was all. There were plenty of things they could do inside, like tag or hide-and-seek, but Maria didn't press further and stepped back.
Everyone here adored the Fairy and wanted to play with her, and they all knew how much Baek Ha-na cherished the Fairy. They also knew that even Baek Ha-na set Baek Woo-jin's words above her own feelings.
-Behave yourselves until the festival day.
Those were the words Baek Woo-jin had left with the five children this morning as he left the mansion for an outside appointment.
At first, the girls had taken it simply as a warning not to run around the mansion. But after finishing their tough training through the steady rain, they soon heard from Claire what those words really meant.
-Did you not hear the Professor tell you to behave yourselves?
The children, fresh from warming themselves in the bath, had been about to turn the mansion into a playground with the exuberant Fairy as usual, but Claire's cold gaze and sharp scolding forced them to go back to the room quietly.
"Hey. Do something about her."
"......Do what."
Idni quietly got up and poked the side of Nam Seo-hee, who had buried her face in Baek Ha-na's pillow. Nam Seo-hee scrunched up her face and turned her head to glare at Idni.
But Idni, whose eyes were still fixed on the Fairy's forlorn back, didn't notice Nam Seo-hee's glare and kept poking her side while whispering.
"You're the only one who hasn't gotten a present from Peepy."
The crease between Nam Seo-hee's brows deepened.
Because, just as Idni said, she still hadn't received one of those shining spheres that Lee Na-young and even this annoying friend right in front of her had gotten.
But even without the sphere, the Fairy didn't reject Nam Seo-hee's touch and followed her around well, just like with the other children.
Slide.
"Oh......?"
Nam Seo-hee sat up, and Idni turned her head to look at her.
"Did you come up with something?"
"...Be quiet."
Not receiving a present from the tiny Fairy wasn't really something she cared much about, but having Idni keep teasing her about it was extremely irritating. So Nam Seo-hee decided to make the most of this opportunity.
"Ha-na. Do you have a thick marker or something?"
"Hm, hold on."
Baek Ha-na set Lee Na-young down beside her and stood up. Next to the bookshelf filled with diaries, she rummaged through the desk drawer and found a thick black marker.
"Will this do?"
"Plenty."
Nam Seo-hee took the marker from Baek Ha-na.
Pop—!!
The cap came off, releasing the distinctive alcohol-like smell of the marker.
"......?"
Idni tilted her head as she came face-to-face with Nam Seo-hee, who was staring intently at her with marker in hand.
"What. Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Cooperate."
"Cooperate? What kind of coo—..."
Before Idni could finish her sentence, Nam Seo-hee leaned in close. The moment Nam Seo-hee's breath brushed the tip of her nose, Idni panicked and tried to pull back.
Grab—!!
"Cooperate."
With overwhelming assertiveness, Nam Seo-hee wrapped an arm around Idni's waist and pulled her close.
"Uh, uh? No, um......?"
Caught completely off guard, Idni's lips just fluttered open and shut like a broken machine. Nam Seo-hee moved her hand toward Idni's frozen face, which was making an adorable "uh-um-um..." sound.
Squeak.
The black marker drew a small dot under Idni's nose.
"......?"
Only when the marker touched her face did Idni sense something strange and snap back to her senses. But Nam Seo-hee's hand was faster.
Idni's face became a perfect canvas, and it turned into a fine piece of Nam Seo-hee's handiwork.
"Pfft......."
Maria, watching from below, covered her mouth and turned her head away. Idni frowned briefly at her best friend's reaction, then let out a short sigh.
"If this doesn't work, be prepared."
"It'll work."
After all, this was a method from a video with a pretty high view count on social media.
"More importantly, could you let me go now?"
"Apologies."
Nam Seo-hee readily admitted her mistake and released her arm from around Idni's waist. Freed again, Idni sat back down, covering her face with Baek Ha-na's pillow.
"Peepy!!"
-Peep......?
The Fairy, who had been vacantly watching raindrops slide down the window, slowly turned her head. Nam Seo-hee poked Idni's lower back as a signal.
"Bleeh~"
Not even knowing what state her own face was in, Idni lowered the pillow she had been hiding behind and scrunched up her face, trying to make the silliest expression possible.
-Pya-ha-ha-ha!!
A bright smile bloomed across the Fairy's previously dark, gloomy face.
"Boo~ urururu~!!"
-Weird!! Pff-hee-hee!!
As the Fairy giggled, Idni kept alternately hiding and lowering her face with the pillow, cycling through a variety of expressions as if she hadn't just been scrunching it up.
Watching this, Baek Ha-na's expression brightened even more. She took a much smaller marker from the drawer than the one given to Nam Seo-hee.
Pop—!!
Uncapping the marker, Baek Ha-na held it between her index finger and thumb and went over beside the Fairy.
"Want to try drawing yourself?"
-Peep-hee-hee!! Dwaw?
"Yes. Look, like this."
Baek Ha-na closed one eye and rubbed the marker over her eyelid. Watching this, the Fairy's eyes sparkled, and she stretched out both tiny hands.
-Wanna dwaw!!
Seeing the Fairy recover her energy in no time, Baek Ha-na lifted the corners of her lips slightly and handed the marker to the Fairy, leaning her face forward.
-Peep-hee-hee~!!
The Fairy gripped the marker as big as her own body with both hands and began drawing long, thick lines on Baek Ha-na's face. Maria, watching from behind, smiled silently and stood up.
"When you're done, want to draw on my face too?"
-Dwaw!!
Satisfied with the Fairy's energetic reply, Maria turned her head.
"You two should join in too, right?"
"Uh, y-yeah? Ah, yeah!!"
Lee Na-young nodded as if it were obvious.
"Oh my, Seo-hee, aren't you going to? No answer?"
"......I, have to."
"I'll do you."
Swiish—!!
Instantly snatching the marker from Nam Seo-hee's hand, Idni drew black lines across her fair skin.
"Kya~ Well, well, if it isn't the one-eyed swordsman? Pfft~!!"
"......."
Nam Seo-hee's face flushed red and she trembled, but she didn't reject Idni's hand.
'Seo-hee is useful once in a while too~'
Maria, watching everything, subtly pulled out her smartphone and quietly captured the moments.
**
Shhhhhhhhh───!
The sound of the downpour, falling in thick sheets, pounded against my ears.
The wind blew and raindrops splashed everywhere, but I didn't get wet. The never-ending rain only produced a sound pleasant to my ears; any water that might have splashed onto my clothes was blocked entirely by a layer of mana.
'It's almost time.'
One more week.
The moment to fasten the first button of the plan I had been preparing for eight years was approaching.
The course ahead would change again depending on the outcome of this event, and maybe I would even have to scrap the plan entirely. I had prepared for that possibility, but I hoped it wouldn't come to that.
To that end, I had even drawn the Chairman deeply into the plan to handle any unforeseen variables.
'As long as those kids do their part.'
All 37 people who received invitations in the Chairman's name had responded that they would attend the festival. Just now, I had met the Chairman and handed over the Scale of Sacrifice.
Barring any major disruptions, it would naturally flow into Baek Ha-na's hands during the festival.
Click—
I opened the front door of the mansion, which had arrived before I knew it, and stepped inside.
The door closed behind me, and until I changed shoes, the only sound in my ears was the rain beating against the windows.
Woom.
With each step, the ripple of my mana spread out and relayed the locations of everyone remaining in the mansion.
'They're all gathered.'
All five children, plus Claire and the Fairy, were gathered in Baek Ha-na's room.
As long as they weren't running wild with the Fairy, it didn't matter what they did. So I passed by Baek Ha-na's room and quietly headed for the study.
Clack—!!
Just as I rounded the hallway corner, the door to Baek Ha-na's room burst open with a loud noise, and a pale ball of fluff came charging out.
"Woo-jin~!!"
Baek Ha-na, her face completely covered in unrecognizable scribbles, beamed at me and waved her hand. Cheeky brat.
I turned back and walked over to her.
-Peep-hee-hee!!
-Ah geez...!! Why would she suddenly call the professor like that!!
-Ooh, wh-what do we do...?
-Hehe, just accept it.
Voices of the children noisily spilled through the wide-open door.
"Well? Boo~"
"......."
Scrunching up her heavily scribbled-on face with both hands, the kid made a goofy expression. Anyone else might have cracked a smile at it. But she overlooked one thing.
"You look cute."
"Uh, um......?"
No matter what face she made, there was never a reason for me to laugh at it. Well, sometimes I did let out a laugh when she did something particularly ridiculous.
Gently ruffling the flustered Baek Ha-na's hair, I stood at the doorway.
There, just like Baek Ha-na, the children with faces full of scribbles were all avoiding my gaze, each trying to hide their own embarrassment.
"Claire."
Flustered.
Claire, who had been leaning her face toward the Fairy sitting by the window, flinched and trembled.
"When you're done, a cup of coffee, please."
"......Yes."
Satisfied with the tiny response, I added a word to the other children as well.
"Looks like you're enjoying yourselves in your own way."
With those final words, I left Baek Ha-na behind—still stammering with her lips slightly parted—and went into the study.
**
-Wanna dwaw!!
"Noisy."
-Uwing!!
After the children left, the Fairy—who normally would have gone straight to sleep—came fluttering over with a marker, and before I knew it, she was pushing it toward my face.
She seemed to have really enjoyed the scribbling from earlier.
"You must not do that to the Professor."
-Boo.......
When Claire tried to reach out, the Fairy puffed out both cheeks and plopped down right on top of my notebook. I briefly raised my hand to stop Claire. Then I tore one page out of the notebook and set it down beside the Fairy.
"If you want to draw, draw on that."
-......Hmph.
The Fairy took the torn paper and stomped across the notebook, then settled her bottom down in a spot where she could see my face.
-Peep~
As if she hadn't just been sulking, she started moving the marker held in both hands and humming an unintelligible tune.
-Peepaaam~ Sweeepy.......
Only an hour later did she finally get up from the spot.
-Goo'night~
Seeming to have forgotten that she had been fussing at me a short while ago, she gave a little bow of her head and flew off to the bedroom.
"W-Well then......."
Claire glanced back and forth at the marker and paper left behind, then bid me farewell in the same manner as the Fairy and withdrew to the bedroom.
I looked for a moment at the drawing, which resembled my face as if drawn by a worm crawling, then opened the first drawer of the study desk.
Inside, preserved in a crystal case, was Baek Ha-na's practice notebook.
I slipped the Fairy's drawing into the very first page of the practice notebook and closed the drawer.
"...Well, for a first try, she has some talent."
Muttering an honest impression before realizing it, I picked my pen back up.